Palio of Leesburg

Their seafood platter and filet mignon are excellent. I highly recommend both dishes.

Palio is overpriced, snobby, and not professional. It is staffed by untrained hostesses and waitstaff.
After trying to get seats a few times over the years, we came in. We were asked whether we had reservations. Even though we didn’t, we finally got in after only a 15 minute wait. The hostess took us to our table and acted like she couldn’t believe that our table wasn’t ready. (They were putting the last napkin on. Who cares?) She apologized over and over.
Our table was tightly stuffed in between two others. Our waiter took our order after a few minutes. After 15 minutes bread was brought out. 25 minutes later, more bread was brought out and we were assured that our plates were coming next.
We watched as all of our close neighbors got their food. Finally the food came. My filet was cooked properly but dry. I ordered mashed potatoes but got little fried potatoes. When the waiter asked me about the food, I explained the problems. He apologized but did nothing to fix the situation. My husband’s food was correct and adequate but not great.
After all of that, the price tag was $ 155.00. Overpriced and unprofessional. Next time, I’ll make another choice!!!

Absolutely love this place. The seafood and pasta is always a hit. The tiramisu it by far the best I’ve ever had. Wonderful wait staff also. I just cant say enough about the terrific chef though!

Me, my bf, and niece wanted to go to Fireworks Pizza for dinner on a Saturday night but that was a mistake because it was so busy! We didn’t want to wait 20 minutes so we looked up restaurants that were within walking distance. My bf looked it up and saw Palio’s. My niece loves Italian so we decided to go there. The staff was friendly and we were seated promptly. One look at the menu and I was underwhelmed. I also noticed the high prices! My niece isn’t a big fan of seafood and she wanted pasta (preferably chicken). Most of their pasta dishes had seafood so she was very disappointed in the options. She went ahead and had their beef pasta special. I had the 6oz filet mignon with roasted potatoes. My bf had the pork chop. My niece did not like her pasta at all. My filet was just ok but I didn’t like the sauce that it came in. I think I would have liked it more if it wasn’t in sauce. The potatoes were good though. My bf loved his pork chop and I thought it was pretty tasty. It was all way too overpriced. It was $ 100 for just the 3 of us and we all had water. I’m glad we tried this place out but I wouldn’t come here again.

Sorry. I would not go back to this restaurant. Not a good value for the money and the food was mediocre.

Very disappointing. The place seemed empty, but food service was running slow because they were «very busy». Over 30 minutes for our salad. Another 30 for the entrée.
After the long wait, the food was only marginal at best. Scallop dish that was supposed to be their most popular entrée was not good. Risotto was a little crunchy and the scallops tasted odd. Lasagna was ok but not great.
For the price, I had higher expectations.

Pleasantly surprised by fantastic service tonight. Food was terrific but that has never been the problem here. Highly recommend giving it another try if you have had issues in the past.

I have only been here once, on Valentine’s Day of 2014 so that is all I have to go off of. They had a fixed Valentine’s Day menu and I had some salmon over gnocchi with a pesto sauce. It was really good! I won’t say it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten, and for what we paid for our VDay dinner, it could have been better. But it was a good quality dish if you don’t consider the price. They also had some tasty bread– I love bread!
Now for the real reason I gave them 4 stars: The dessert! It was honestly the best dessert I have ever eaten. It was some sort of gelato in a chocolate shell and it just melted in my mouth. I can’t even use words to describe how delicious it was. I don’t know if they have it on their regular menu or if it was just a VDay special, but you should definitely go here and order it if they do have it!

I visited Palio the last time i was in the area for business and found it to be a special jem in the middle of downtown Leesburg, Va. I was excited to see that the chef had a mix of classic and modern twists on Italian fare. We enjoyed the wines that were suggested to us by the wine expert, and some of us even had leftovers for the next day. I would suggest to people that this is not olive garden, and if this what you like then i would suggest sticking with what you enjoy. I cant wait to return and have suggested it to my friends and family in the area. Given the current chef“s linage i can only be excited for things to come for this restaurant. I wouldn’t shy away from saying that this restaurant elevates the food scene in Leesburg.

Our food was delicious and the service was even better. Fresh ingredients and wonderful flavors. We will be back!

We tried this place out to see if they made the cut for our rehearsal dinner location — they did! I had been exchanging emails with Emily, a bartender, who was very helpful and always followed up. I am very impressed with her professionalism while keeping the air of a very good friend– we hugged after our meeting.
Parking was a bit confusing if you aren’t terribly familiar with the Leesburg area, but there is a garage right around the corner that offers free parking after 6 pm on weekends. We were told you could also park in the street on weekends if available. The outside of it is so adorable, blends right in with the rest of the street but very authentic Italian-​looking. We were taken upstairs and unfortunately they did not have menus for us but we didn’t have to wait long for them. They didn’t have a drink menu which slightly disappointed me but I ordered a screwdriver that was very heavy on the vodka (not a bad thing for sure!) and Emily gave us a free rose champagne toast that we all loved. I will say the room upstairs was quite loud for being smaller, I’m glad our dinner will be in a private room. I’m not sharing!
For appetizers we got crab stuffed mushrooms, they were pretty good but not great. They were missing something. I still really liked them, though. I tried the soup of the day which was a wild mushroom soup… omg. It was amazing. It kind of trumped everything else we ate so if you end up trying it, save it for last! You’ve been warned!
My future mother-​in-​law tried the lasagna, I was very excited for it since I read raving reviews and my future sister-​in-​law was there a week before us and insisted on it… it was pretty good but I forgot how picky I can be about my lasagna, and kind of thought it just tasted like a creamier version of any other lasagna. I make mine with sausage and think that’s how it should always be done cuz it gives it a much stronger flavor. But for being at a restaurant, it was very good. I got scallops, I loved them. My fiancé thought they were slightly overcooked but he is insanely picky about his seafood. I thought they were fantastic. He got some kind of seafood pasta frutti dish thing… we didn’t like it at all. He thought it was fine but he was also on quite a few pain killers from a Thanksgiving Football injury and said everything started tasting the same after the soup, so his opinion doesn’t count. The clams/​mussels that I tried were both very salty, I guess the way they normally are but it was the sauce I didn’t like. It was an extremely bland, tasteless tomato sauce and you could taste the pasta (the whole point is to cover up the pasta flavor) so I guess if the sauce was stronger the seafood wouldn’t have been as ocean-​y as it was.
We will be back to try our selections for the rehearsal dinner as well as wines & beers!

Good service and good music but they failed miserible on everything else… over priced for what you get is my biggest issue. The food is average at best and don’t know this chef is getting these grand reviews. We went in again this past weekend for just appetizers and drinks. I had the soup of the day, clam chowder and the potatoes were raw. The guy next to me said the same thing about his and we both sent it back. This was a Saturday night and they don’t even taste the food they serve…

We are Loudoun residents and have visited Palio’s a number of times. The food has always been solid but the service has been hit or miss. We easily overlooked the inconsistencies in service because the bolognese sauce is to die for. Unfortunately, our last visit sealed the deal and unfortunately we will not be back again. First of all the server did not approach us until 20+ minutes after being seated. Given the place was packed we forgave this, but we saw tables seated after us greeted and drinks and orders taken. First we each ordered prosecco and the waiter did not know what that was … surprising for an italian restaurant. The drinks didn’t arrive for another 10 minutes and that should have been a sign. By the time we ordered our meal it was well into half an hour from the time we were seated. Here is where it gets interesting. We ordered a bottle of wine with dinner (not terribly expensive, but a $ 70 bottle). After another 15 minutes passed our server — who didn’t know what prosecco was, but eager to recommend a bottle of wine — returned with a different bottle from what we ordered and said the bottle is «more complex» than the one we wanted, which they were out of. So we thought we would give it a whirl. After pouring us both a taste, I said I did not really care for it, but he was already pouring my husband’s glass and assured me if would open as he poured mine. Now, I am not a sommelier, but I am wine enthusiast, have tasted my fare share and know when something isn’t right. The wine just east good and tasted like it was past it’s prime. We did it drink what was poured and asked for it to be sent back at the same time asking for the wine menu again so that we can chose another bottle (which we did and was more expensive than the original bottle). Well, this clearly pissed off the wine steward, who came to our table. He was not just rude, but he pretty much lectured us about the fact that he has never taken back wine from patrons who did not like the way it tasted. After we kept reiterating that the wine was oxidized or past it’s prime … He took a swig from my glass and proclaimed, «that is a fine wine!» And then stated «to maintain decorum, he would take it away.» Then stormed back downstairs. We were in awe! People around our table were staring and we felt like we were victims of a drive by shooting. We told out server about the rudeness of the wine steward, and he apologized for him and said he explained that he was just passionate. The best part is our server then says, he will be able to taste the wine we returned and he was excited to try it! Really?! You recommended it.
Regardless to say, we wrapped up dinner as quickly as possible to the tune of about $ 200 for a party of two. And with creative googling on our phones, found out that this «fine wine» that we so mistakenly sent back was a $ 25 bottle (that’s right a 300% markup). Now, I know restaurants make their money on wine, but we did order another bottle which was more expensive, although not as mark up – only 200%!
The wine steward did re-​approach us as we were paying our bill and later apologized stating that he was just busy and they were understaffed. Nice apology, huh?! Realistically, we were not expecting one or wanted one. We just wanted to get out. He even tried to open the door as we practically ran out. I know everyone has off days, but taking it out on your customers is never acceptable.
For as good as the food is, we still won’t be back … Because the service is so miserable. There are so many other better options in Leesburg.

The trend at Palio’s has not been great. Since opening as a excellent find dining Italian restaurant 4 year ago, the trend has been steadily towards plainer fare and higher prices. I don’t know if I will ever go back to what was once my favorite dining establishment in Leesburg.
Simply put, the prices are outrageous. $ 30 entrees better have something extra special in this market, and they just don’t. Don’t get me wrong, the food is quite good. But wine portions are stingy, the service is average, and the dinner prices are the highest in town. I enjoy the food and the atmosphere, but I always leave feeling a little bit cheated. That’s not a good thing.

Lasagna lasagna lasagna! Went there with my fiancée last week for lunch while out driving around the countryside sightseeing because she was in the mood for steak.
Best detour we ever made, I had the Lasagna del Palio and she ordered Steak & Eggs.
My meal was reminiscent of Enzio’s in Georgetown… but better, which is saying a lot. Freshest ingredients, sauce was flavorful without being over the top, meat and cheese were layered perfectly. Her steak was cooked exactly how you would expect medium rare to be cooked and the homemade hollandaise put Palio on our top five must revisit sites in Loudoun County!
The waiter was really good as well, unfortunately we don’t recall his name.

Very disappointing and expensive dining experience. This place is not as good as it used to be, if you are thinking of trying it I’d do lunch instead of dinner and don’t be in a hurry.
Went here with the family the other day as we hadn’t been in a while and had some good memories of infrequent but nice meals here over the past 5 years. They have expanded the restaurant space into the building next door and it’s still very pretty and romantic inside. Unfortunately though, this trip was enough to permanently remove it from our list of places to ever go again.
Service: friendly and fairly accommodating, but unGodly slow. It took us 2.5 hours to have dinner. We would finish one course and be left staring at our empty plates for 15 – 20 minutes, they would clear the plates and then we would be left waiting another 15 – 20 minutes for the next course, rinse, repeat. If we needed anything, the waiter wouldn’t be around to ask either, he totally disappeared between courses. The restaurant was not terribly busy either, no excuse.
Food: Quality is really sub-​par now and portions have shrunk to appetizer-​size almost. Everyone’s salads were small, somewhat wilted and universally overdressed. Would have been less of an insult at $ 5 but at $ 10? Not OK. My mussels were way overcooked but tasty, was not given a spoon or any bread with which to mop up the broth (the best part of any mussel dish) and of course the waiter didn’t come back after dropping off the food so I couldn’t ask for any either. Desserts were also universally disappointing, and again, overpriced.
Price: Gah! Expensive. And worse, just not worth it.

My wife and I were here about two weeks ago just to get some dessert. We were waited on by Bill. Now, there’s really good service and then there’s stellar service. In the former you are treated courteously and promptly. In the latter the service goes beyond treating the customer well… it’s about being able to read the customer and know what would be best in their case. The first category isn’t too hard to find, the latter is so rare that you actually remember people’s name afterwards. Bill embodies the latter category.
After chatting a little he recommended that we get the Crème Brulee and he flatout said that it would be the best that we’d ever have. And he was right! The texture, the flavour, the caramelized top… everything was simply perfect. That’s Crème Brulee comme il faut and it’ll be difficult to top. It was so good that we seriously started thinking about dining there, but unfortunately we didn’t have the time. We’ll definitely drop in next time we’re in Leesburg.

Eating here makes me want to set an Olive Garden on fire.
The gluten-​free pasta is exceptional. Their wine list is ample and the best selection of Italian wines in Leesburg. I’ve had pasta and flatbread there and have always enjoyed my meals. Great spot for a Friday happy hour. It’s nice to see Italian done well and not some steaming pile of frozen pastas stewing in Ragu.

Great location from the outlets so it was pretty easy to get to. Nice location in old town Leesburg and very close to public parking.
The lamb shank was very good and the calamari was cooked perfectly (not much taste though). My wife got the pesto chicken pasta and it was underwhelming and under seasoned. Side note, I’ve had better lamb shank at Sorrento Grill in Clocktower in Henrdon for $ 11 vs. $ 28 here.
Menu was very limited (guess its the whole, «we offer little but what we do offer we do great» concept)
The décor was nice and wait staff was great! Music was odd for an italian restaurant (Dixie Chicks?) and the bar downstairs with Jazz was very nice touch.
All-​in-​all, probably wont be going back. For the price, the food was «eh» (overall). Nothing I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. If I’m going to spend over $ 100 on dinner for 2, I can think of many many other places to do so.

The atmosphere was as expected. Great
The wine was as expected. Great
The food really couldn’t have been better.
Go late as you can and the attentiveness of the staff is remarkable. I say late because I eat late.